05/31/2026
President Trump rescinded Executive Orders 11644 (1972) and 11989 (1977) on May 29, 2026, via a new executive order titled โRemoving Unnecessary and Counterproductive Restrictions on Access to Federal Lands.โ This action directly affects management of off-road vehicles (ORVs) on federal public lands, and snowmobiles qualify as ORVs under the original orders because they are motorized vehicles capable of cross-country travel on snow and other terrain.
Quick Background on the Original Executive Orders
EO 11644 required federal agencies (primarily BLM, U.S. Forest Service, and others) to designate specific areas and trails where ORVs (including snowmobiles) could be used, while minimizing damage to resources, wildlife harassment, user conflicts, and impacts on natural/scenic values.
EO 11989 (which amended the first) strengthened this by authorizing immediate closures of areas or trails if ORV use was causing or likely to cause โconsiderable adverse effectsโ on soil, vegetation, wildlife, habitat, or cultural resources. It also supported a โclosed unless designated openโ approach in some cases.
๐๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ค๐ง๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ข๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ข๐ค๐๐๐ง๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ก ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ฃ๐จ, ๐ง๐ค๐ช๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฎ ๐๐ก๐ค๐จ๐ช๐ง๐๐จ/๐ง๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ก ๐ก๐๐ฃ๐๐จ. Environmental and non-motorized recreation groups often cited them to push for limits on snowmobiling and other motorized winter use.
Potential Impacts on Snowmobiling and Access to Riding Areas
The rescission does not immediately reopen closed areas or rewrite every travel plan overnight. Instead, it directs agencies (Interior/BLM, Agriculture/USFS, etc.) to start rulemakings that rescind or revise the old implementing regulations and shift to management under existing statutes like the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and agency-specific multiple-use mandates. The administration argues that modern technology (better monitoring, mapping, etc.) and current laws make the 50-year-old criteria outdated and overly restrictive.
Likely positive effects for snowmobilers (per the administration and pro-access groups):
๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐จ๐๐จ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐๐จ๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐ช๐ก๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐ก๐-๐ช๐จ๐ โ
Future travel management plans and oversnow vehicle designations may prioritize recreational opportunities more equally alongside conservation, rather than defaulting to strict โminimizationโ of impacts or user conflicts.
๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ง ๐๐ช๐ฉ๐ค๐ข๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ค๐ง ๐จ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ก๐ค๐จ๐ช๐ง๐๐จ โ
The old โconsiderable adverse effectsโ trigger for quick closures is removed at the EO level, potentially making it harder for agencies to close riding areas solely on vague environmental or social criteria.
๐๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ๐ช๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐ โ This could lead to expanded designated areas/trails, especially in national forests and BLM lands where most snowmobiling occurs (very relevant in Idaho near Idaho Falls, with areas like the Caribou-Targhee or Sawtooth National Forests). Pro-access organizations like the Off-Road Business Association and BlueRibbon Coalition see this as a major win for modernizing management and reducing barriers to recreation.
๐๐๐๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ช๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ค๐ง๐ฎ ๐๐ช๐ง๐๐๐ฃ โ Snowmobile clubs and riders may have stronger footing in public comment periods during plan revisions.
๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐ก, ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐จ๐จ, ๐๐ฃ๐๐ก๐ช๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐จ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ๐ข๐ค๐๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐, ๐๐ฎ ๐ง๐๐ข๐ค๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐ค๐ช๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ง๐๐๐ง๐จ.
Snowmobilers in Idaho and other Western states with large federal land holdings are likely to see the biggest long-term benefits in terms of riding areas and opportunities, assuming agencies follow through on the policy shift toward balanced multiple-use management. If you're involved with local snowmobile clubs, now would be a good time to engage in upcoming agency rulemakings and forest plan updates.
